Sunday, March 22, 2009

Label Options

So we are gearing up to bottle our newest addition to the Prime Family...Chardonnay (only about 100 cases, due out in Summer 2009!). We were playing around with color schemes and these are the finalists. The yellow color will be more of a gold to match the foil if we can pull it off. The chardonnay bottle will be about the same color as the one we used for Prime Cabernet. Let us know if you have a preference to one label over the other, we are interested to know.

36 comments:

Gold is so tricky. It drives me crazy when I see yellow printed on white and you can't read it because the yellow is too pale. However, if you're doing yellow on gray you can get the same effect. It all comes down to contrast. Are these Pantone spot colors? I like the second one as well, just get a swatch book and make sure your gray and yellow have enough contrast. End of print nerd rant. :)

I prefer the second one ... it's easier on the eyes and the colors have a better effect when they are a bit muted. I think the white is too bright. But I also realize that things look differently when they are printed on whatever paper you have selected ... Nice design!

Best thing to do is print them both out (ideally on label stock), paste them on bottles and go down to the local market (one with lots of bottles on the shelf - e.g. Molsberry Market in Santa Rosa), and see which one stands out the most from the crowd of Chardonnays on display. Don't have an opinion, have data!

And if they truly both suck, start over. The attractiveness and recognition factor of your label is one of the most powerful tools you have to sell your wine.

Just like winery Web sites tend to all have nice pictures of vineyards, most wine labels tend to be remarkably similar.

If I had to guess, I would say people are picking Option #2 because it is more readable. In that respect, I agree with print nerd Melissa: yellow text on white background is an impossible combination. But I like the IDEA of Option #1 better. Because it is the inverse of the Cab label (has a white logo, instead of black), it seems to imply that this is the "white" version of your wine, which it is. It has a cleaner, fresher feel than #2.

Now that you have a second wine, you need to consider how they "family." Traditionally, labels with dark borders (or labels that are predominantly dark) are for red wines and vice-versa for white wines. Which is to say, your Cabernet should have Option 1 and your Chardonnay option 2.

Maybe what is done traditionally is of no interest to you. That's perfectly fine. The larger question is: What are you trying to communicate? If by "Prime" you are trying to suggest a certain level of quality, then neither label does the trick. Your wine club name plays off of prime numbers. If that's the direction, these labels don't seem to follow.

If Prime is more than a hobby and you anticipate making more wine and seeking wider distribution, you need a tighter story. One that is reflected in your label.

I like #1 as well. Taking Jeff's comment a bit further, The Chard bottle when filled is going to be a light(er) color so with option #1 you have a contrast of light bottle/dark border/light panel. That would be the inverse of the Cab (dark/light/dark). Option #2 gives you a light bottle/light border dark panel which may look a bit weird.

Okay. As with many things, a mockup is always a good idea. Does this change anyone's mind? It changes mine, for sure. It turns out that the label itself looks dirty in #1, even though the logo is brighter. Where did the grey color come from? Is that up for debate? Really, I think you should have people hand-paint the white stripe on the bottles. Ooh, and then you can have hand-dipped wax capsules. And sign each bottle...

I'm a little late in the game here, but I like option 1 because it's kind of the opposite of the cabernet label, as long as the Napa Valley is readable in gold. But they're both great, so you can't go wrong!